FNG Group moves stock of Dutch and Belgian brands to Dutch warehouse

Belgium-based FNG Group, owner of both Belgian and Dutch fashion retailers including Miss Etam, Expresso and Promiss, amongst others, will soon distribute all of its clothing from one automated warehouse in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, reports Belgian newspaper De Tijd.

FNG Group's Miss Etam - Photo: Miss Etam FacebookWith the new warehouse, the Belgian fashion group will be able to reduce costs. In total, FNG will store nine clothing brands under one roof. The shoe brand Brantano will keep its Belgium-based warehouse. At the moment the brands are stocked at several smaller warehouses spread across Belgium and the Netherlands. The Zoetermeer warehouse is able to process 30 million pieces of clothing per year.

Co-founder Manuel Bracke explained to De Tijd that with the automated system, FNG is also able to sell its clothing more easily through its partners such as Zalando, Bol.com and Wehkamp.

FNG ended up with the Zoetermeer Warehouse by chance in 2016, when the group took over the bankrupt Dutch fashion chain, Miss Etam. “The Dutch womenwear chain went bankrupt because it had too many stores. But it was very strong in e-commerce and had this high-tech warehouse. By closing stores we were able to make Miss Etam profitable again,” Bracke tells De Tijd. Additionally, FNG decided to move to the Dutch warehouse, because it is cheaper and more efficiently to work in the Netherlands.

FNG Group designs and distributes clothing and shoes for both women and children. The company currently owns 10 brands, which operate via 500 standalone stores, shop-in-shops and over 1500 multi-brand stores internationally. In October, the group announced that it has plans to expand its Dutch brands in Germany.